Newspaper Page Text
The
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 23. No. 40
Thursday, November 14,1985
$12.00 Per Year
Synod Topics Viewed
As Time Grows Short
BY NC NEWS SERVICE
Should the upcoming extraordinary Synod of Bishops in
Rome apply “surgery” to problems in the post-Vatican II
church or should the bishops examine how best to use col-
legiality, their shared authority with the pope?
As the Nov. 24-Dec. 8 synod approached, church leaders
had different views of what it should accomplish and what it
should emphasize.
For U.S. and Canadian churchmen, collegiality was the
focus.
A Brazilian bishop said “surgical measures” were need
ed to solve some doctrinal and disciplinary problems
resulting from misinterpretations of council documents.
Dissident French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre said the
meeting would take the church closer to “self-destruction.”
An extraordinary assembly of the world Synod of Bishops
has fewer members than the regular synods which meet
every three years. Participants will include top Vatican of
ficials, presidents of bishops’ conferences and special papal
delegates.
Canon 346 of the Code of Canon Law says an extraor
dinary synod is “for the purpose of dealing with matters
which require speedy resolution.”
Two U.S. church leaders, commenting on the upcoming
meeting, said they disagree with negative views of the post-
Vatican II church.
The teachings of Vatican II were “a blessing” to the
church in the United States, said Bishop James W. Malone
of Youngstown, Ohio, president of the National Conference
of Catholic Bishops.
Speaking at the U.S. bishops’ general meeting in
Washington Nov. 11, Bishop Malone also said it is
“dismaying” that some people •'.re apprehensive about the
synod.
The previous week, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of
Chicago told an audience at The Catholic University of
(Continued on Page 8)
Network Nun Inches Forward To Success
Leah Tutu
Liberation Greatest Need
hardship to the black com
munity, but it will also br
ing hardship to the white.
We need that kind of
pressure to add to what we
are doing.”
She went on. “We are do
ing a lot. We do not see that
we will go back. There is no
going back now. We want
our proper place, fully free
in the South African society
— our nation.”
Asked what is the most ef
fective action blacks have
taken to date to oppose the
system of apartheid, Mrs.
Tutu said without hesitation
“the black boycott of white
business has been our most
effective protest. Stores
have been hurt but black
communities have ex
perienced the anger of the
police because of this pro
test.”
Mrs. Tutu, who has joined
her husband in peaceful
protests against apartheid,
commented on the recent
statements of the fun
damentalist minister Rev.
Jerry Falwell. “Mr.
Falwell stated that black of-
ficials have objected to
economic sanctions. Well,
apartheid has black faces
too. Look at our police,
many of them are non-white
and there are resentments
among the oppressed black
communities about them.
Oh yes, apartheid has black
faces too.”
Leah Tutu is the director
of the Domestic Workers’
Employee Project in
Johannesburg. This organ
ization advocates for and
supports the rights of
domestic workers, who are
predominately black wo
men. Leah Tutu’s mother
was a domestic worker.
Under South African law
domestic workers are not
permitted to unionize,
(Continued on Page 8)
BY RITA McINERNEY
More than four years
after her pioneering
plunge into cable televi
sion, Mother Angelica is a
regular and welcome
electronic presence in
countless Catholic homes
across the United States,
all because she followed
the “theology of risk.”
The Franciscan nun
who founded the Eternal
I Word Television Network
at Our Lady of the Angels
Monastery outside Birm
ingham, Ala., because she
didn’t want her programs
shown on the local chan
nel that showed a movie
she considered blas
phemous, lists faith as
her principal security.
“The way we manage
I our network is by relying
on God’s providence. That
is our witness. He does
great things,” she said
during an interview
before her talk Friday
night at the seventh an
nual National Catholic
Lay Celebration on
Evangelization held at the
Atlanta Hilton.
Being a nun in TV
makes a difference in the
way the network is
operated, she said. “I
could give a talk and
make people feel guilty
enough to donate to a
cause. But it would be
better if I could give a talk
and make people feel
compassion, feel the con
viction that comes from
the Lord that I’m my
brother’s keeper.” The
Gospel method, she
believes, is better than
trying to solve problems
from the outside, just sit
ting down and writing a
tax-deductible check. The
desire to help must come
from the inside.
“They used to say that
maids built the big
cathedrals,” Mother
Angelica said. “Today, 97
percent of our donations
comes from families.”
There are, of course, a few
big donors. Both large and
small contributions are
necessary for a network
operation that has an
overhead of from $290,000
to $320,000 each month
“depending upon the in
terest due,” a profes
sional staff of 50 people
and a new 50 foot by 75 foot
studio.
Her recent appearance
on “60 Minutes” brought
BY MONSIGNOR NOEL C.
BURTENSHAW
ANSWERING QUESTIONS —
During the news conference, Mrs.
Leah Tutu responds to reporters
at Atlanta City Hall. With Mrs.
Tutu are (L to R) Elizabeth
Enloe, Executive Secretary
Atlanta Chapter, American
She looks like she might
be the perfect companion to
her famous husband. This
African woman sits quietly
in front of the Atlanta
media and gently but firmly
answers their searching
questions.
She is Leah Tutu, wife of
Bishop Desmond Tutu,
■ Nobel Peace Prize winner
3 and Episcopal Bishop of
I Johannesburg in South
| Africa. Mrs. Tutu was
visiting Atlanta last week
and spoke with many
groups in the city.
“We are grateful for the
support we are receiving
from the American public”
she said most genuinely,
“but we need great
pressure from your govern
ment on the government of
South Africa. Economic
sanctions may bring more
MOTHER ANGELICA speaks with an ad
mirer, Barbara Kuras, after her talk at the
Evangelization Celebration last Friday.
money from some one
time donors. “Money-
wise, we’re not sure yet
but it did a lot for our
mailing lists,” she reveal
ed.
“It did a tremendous lot
of good, more cable
assistances from every
part of the country. It
made people aware that
there was a Catholic cable
television network.”
Morley Safer, CBS
newsman who traveled to
the monastery for the in
terviews, called her a
“smart cookie” during
the tapings, she re
counted. So the nuns bak
ed a batch of cookies and
sent them to him from
“one smart cookie to
(Continued on Page 13)
Friends Service Committee, Mrs.
Jean Young, wife of Atlanta’s
Mayor, Mrs. Tutu and Ms. Tandi
Gcabashe. Ms. Gcabashe is the
daughter of Chief Albert Luthuli
who was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1960.
